The damage caused by water leaking from a broken water line in a house or building can be extensive and typically exceeds several thousand dollars per household. Water destroys hardwood floors, carpeting, linoleum floors, etc. and can even cause a floor's foundation to warp. While the present inventor has no specific evidence as to how much water damage occurs in the United States alone each year, it is expected to run into the millions. Accordingly, a need exists for a system that will minimize the water damage which results when a break in a building's water line occurs.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,180,088 to Mallet addresses this problem with a water leak detection system which uses a water flow sensing device to shut off a valve on the incoming water line when water flow in the line is detected. The system can not be used during periods of normal water usage since the water flow which results, for example, when a simple faucet is turned on would activate the system and thereby shut off the supply of water. Accordingly, this system is only realistically usable when the homeowner intends to be away from home for an extended period of time or does not expect to use the system, for example at night. However, use of the system at night is not realistic either since most homeowners use bathroom facilities at night.
Other patents disclosing apparatus and systems for preventing or shutting off fluid flow are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,735,231; 3,506,033; 2,160,766; 2,012,351; 3,800,827; 1,173,966; and 1,956,010.
While all the aforementioned patents disclose systems for preventing fluid flow in one situation or another, a need still exists for a system which is capable of minimizing the leakage of water into a home or building at all times, i.e. is always on or and does not have to be switched on by the homeowner or building supervisor.